Monday, 20 July 2009

First Day's Filming

The media have been quick to act on the announcement of the first day's filming for the new series of Doctor Who.

The Daily Mail have published a selection of photographs of new Doctor Matt Smith and companion actress Karen Gillan on location, featuring the two leads along with what appears to be a new, slightly tweaked, police box prop for the TARDIS. The Metro has also published a photo of the two with the TARDIS.

Meanwhile, The Sun have also covered the filming, with a photo revealing a well-known guest star also appearing alongside the two time-travellers. Digital Spy reports a BBC spokesperson as confirming the person in question, whilst SFX, the London Paper and Holy Moly published more photos from the proceedings.

The photos from the Sun and SFX show guest star Alex Kingston, previously seen in the Steven Moffatt-penned episodes as River Song in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.

Digital Spy reported: A BBC spokesperson confirmed: "Alex Kingston will be returning to Doctor Who in the new series featuring Matt Smith. Viewers will have to wait and see who she plays and how her character fits into the series." Kingston is thought to be returning for a two-episode stint.

Scott Frankton has kindly provided a report on today's filming:

Well, well, well what an eventful morning! I was always dubious about a return to Bad Wolf Bay for the DW team, but lo and behold that is indeed where they were today, not anywhere that was actually used in Doomsday or Journeys End, but nevertheless this beach is turning into the most important location in Nu Who's history! We arrived at the beach and there was the TARDIS, not the TARDIS of recent times, but the Hartnell one. Retro. Back to basics. This is Moffat injecting the classic series right into the new series.

Anyhoodle, the TARDIS seems to have landed next to the crash landing of some sort of alien spaceship. Debris everywhere, all around and smoke is billowing all around. Thick smoke. Then Matt and Karen leave the TARDIS and have a look around. Flames around the TARDIS....River Song in a long black flowing dress seems to already be there. But she isn't unknown to the Doctor. He clearly recognises her as friendly and they have a chat. This scene was filmed over and over again.

On the behind the scenes front, both Karen and Matt were wonderful - polite, friendly, posing for photos, always smilie. I even got my picture with the new companion! Brilliant!

Finally, the BBC itself has acknowledged the interest fans and the audience have in the series, with entertainment correspondant Lizo Mzimba appearing on BBC News's E24 to discuss how popular the series remains, including the press in attendence for filming as shown in this video!